Murder Gets Personal
My name is Nan Vining and I’m the senior investigator in the Homicide/Assault Section of the Pasadena, California Police Department. My most important job, though, is being a mom to my sixteen-year-old daughter, Emily, who I’ve been raising since she was two when her dad divorced me after running off with his slinky hairdresser. Emily is my pride and joy—bright, beautiful, and sweet—but lately she’s been showing a disturbing rebellious streak. I try to shelter my girl from the grittier aspects of my police work, not always successfully, and I worry that I’m not doing the best job as a mom. This evening, my two worlds collided when I got word that Em had made a gruesome discovery.
I was in class—I’m working on my bachelor’s degree at night—when my boss called me with the news. At twilight in a secluded section of a Pasadena park, Emily and her friend, Ashton, had stumbled upon a crime scene. Beneath a canopy of trees, they had found the bloody bodies of a pretty and popular young teacher from their high school and a bright yet troubled transfer student.
I arrived at the crime scene and comforted Emily who was very upset—the dead woman was her favorite teacher. I also met Ashton, a cocky seventeen-year-old, who I found out is Em’s boyfriend. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Ashton. Em’s never kept secrets like this from me before. What else I don’t know about my daughter?
The situation became increasingly strange. The Pasadena PD brass moved the investigation along at lightning speed. Before the evidence was even processed, the case was closed as a clear-cut murder-suicide: a disturbed teenager murdered his teacher and then took his own life. I don’t buy it. Fortunately, an influential Pasadena PD commander doesn’t either and he’s enlisted me to investigate, reporting only to him. Now, I’m chasing dangerous, powerful people with secrets they would kill for—and taking them down means not only risking my life but also putting Emily, my own flesh and blood, in grave danger.
Find out what happens in Killing Secrets, the 5th Nan Vining mystery, published as an e-book original by Alibi/Random House.
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 12 a.m. eastern on July 29 for the chance to win the Killing Secrets e-book (open to all) or a signed paperback (U.S. only) or e-book (open to all) any of the other books in the series (The First Cut, Cut to the Quick, The Deepest Cut, or Love Kills). Winner will be notified within 48 hours after the giveaway closes and you will have three days to respond after being contacted or another winner will be selected.
Meet the author
A Los Angeles native, Dianne Emley lives in the Central California wine country with her husband. Dianne is a Los Angeles Times bestselling author who has received critical acclaim for her Detective Nan Vining thrillers and Iris Thorne mysteries. Her standalone paranormal mystery, The Night Visitor, was published in September 2014 by Alibi/Random House. Her books have been translated into six languages and published in over 15 countries. She’s a pretty good cook, an amateur oenophile, but persists in being a terrible golfer. About Dianne’s books, Tess Gerritsen says: “Emley masterfully twists, turns, and shocks.”
Dianne loves to hear from readers so stop by her website www.dianneemley.com or visit her on Facebook to check out all her latest news.
Sounds intriguing. Another must read.
New series for me, sounds interesting
I think this would make a wonderful late night mystery for me to read. Don’t worry I have my dog Pepper, to keep me company.
This sounds interedting
New series, thanks for the chance to win 🙂
New to me…
I love books about female detectives. I like the cover of this book too.
Hi Dianne,
Giveaways open to all are rare, so thank you from me and my fellow Canadian mystery readers/writers. Your KILLING SECRETS is on my to-be-read list starting now. Winning an e-copy would be a super perk, but I’ll be reading it nevertheless (probably shouldn’t be saying this).
Yours,
Cynthia
PS Thanks again to you, Dru.
Thanks for your comment, Cynthia! And good luck!
Sounds like an interesting read …. fingers crossed!
This is a new author for me and her series sounds interesting. Thank you for this opportunity!
Look forward to reading this one.
Thanks to introducing me to another new author (to me at least) and series. That TBR list just keeps growing.
Good beginning, I want to read more. Thanks for the giveaway.
Sounds really good, ty for the chance
Sounds like a great read. I don’t have an e-reader, but would love to win a paperback copy.
I am looking forward to a new read! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
Sounds thrilling. Thanks for this great giveaway.
Thanks everyone for your comments so far. Just FYI, KILLING SECRETS is only available as a digital book. If you’d like a paper book, you can request one of the first four books in the Nan Vining series (or a digital book if you prefer). Good luck!
Great review, the book sounds awesome and I really like the Nan Vining books. Glad to know there is a new one out.
Love the day in the life, it is so Nan. So excited about Killing Secrets. If you haven’t read the series….START now. Must, must, must read. Dianne Emley has a great captivating story telling ability that pulls you in and makes you miss Vining between books!
Thanks, Shelly! You’re a super fan of Nan and I appreciate it!
This will be my first look into this series. It sounds like one I will surely like.
The other Nan Vining adventures have been great, so this one is bound to follow suit!
Thanks, everyone, for your comments! I’m so happy to have the Nan Vining series revitalized and being discovered by new fans–and welcomed again by longtime fans.
Sounds real good. I used to live near Pasadena and I love reading mysteries set there. Thank you for the chance!
I have not read anything by this author, but that will change as of today. This series sounds great.
Love strong, yet normal, female protagonists. Sounds like this fits the bill.
I would like to give this series a try…
I like to support local authors and enjoy local settings I can relate to, i.e., Pasadena. Print copy. Judy D.
I like the plot of the story.
Wow, rarely does our Pasadena scare us this much! And we’ve missed it! Meredith T.
Contest is closed.